UCSD graduation festivities kick off Friday

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Graduation weekend begins at UC San Diego Friday with
an all-campus commencement ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. at RIMAC Field.

The school is set to hand out more than 8,000 diplomas over the weekend.

The featured speaker at the all-campus graduation will be Robert
Buckley, who received his UCSD economics degree 10 years ago. He's since become
an actor with credits from “One Tree Hill” and “Lipstick Jungle.”

Saturday, comic and “The Daily Show” contributor Lewis Black is set to
speak to 1,200 graduates of Thurgood Marshall College. Councilwoman Sherri
Lightner, who obtained bachelor's degrees from the school in mathematics and
sociology and a Master's in applied mechanics and engineering sciences, will be
the keynote speaker to more than 1,600 scholars receiving graduate degrees.

John Muir and Sixth Colleges will also hold ceremonies for a total of
2,100 students on Saturday.

“I am extremely proud of our new alumni for their hard work and
achievements across multiple disciplines,” Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said.
“They will undoubtedly go on to be trailblazers in their fields, and they will
carry on UC San Diego's legacy of innovation.”

Bowman Cutter, a senior fellow and director of the Next American Economy
Project at the Roosevelt Institute, will speak Sunday to nearly 150 graduates
at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.

Other Sunday commencement ceremonies will be held for around 2,800
graduates of Earl Warren, Revelle and Eleanor Roosevelt colleges, as well as
the Rady School of Management, which will feature former UCSD Chancellor and
University of California President Richard Atkinson as the keynote speaker.

Medical and pharmacy students already have received their degrees.